The Bishop of Trinidad has asked parishes to tighten security after threats were made by local ISIS supporters against the church.
The Bishop of Trinidad has asked the parishes in his West Indian diocese to move forward their annual parish meetings to August from September, in light of threats made by local ISIS supporters against the church. Last week the Rt. Rev. Claude Berkley (pictured) confirmed he had asked clergy and churchwardens to review security procedures after a Trinidadian Islamist radical, Shane Crawford, released a statement urging Muslims on the island to kill “Christian disbelievers.” He told Newsday: “We will have to examine all of these reports and begin to take the necessary steps,” adding: “We need to be mindful that times have changed, they are changing rapidly and we have to be on the lookout for any acts of hostility.” Bishop Berkley urged the 75,000 members of the diocese to “fear not. But we should exercise every precaution that we can and we should be very vigilant at public functions and public places.” He agreed with the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Port-of-Spain Joseph Harris that churches should consider installing metal detectors to deter would be assailants. In 2013 Crawford, a convert to Islam, left Trinidad for Syria and has been fighting with ISIS for the past three years. In recent months ISIS leaders have withdrawn their foreign fighters from the front line and ordered them home to spread Jihad to their native countries. Police are seeking to question Crawford about his activities, after the 32 year old took to the internet to attempt to radicalize his fellow West Indians. He is believed to have returned to the Caribbean from Syria.
